This invention relates to frameless cabinets and more particularly to apparatus for connecting a cabinet door to a cabinet wall of a frameless cabinet.
Frameless cabinet constructions having cabinet walls with doors hingedly connected thereto are well known. German Offenlegungsschrift DE 4405349A1 discloses a structural wall having a recess extending from a front opening into the interior of the wall. The recess communicates with a slot formed in a wall side. A hinge member having flanges is connected to the wall structure by positioning the flanges in the recess and the hinge member per se in the slot communicating with the recess.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,200, issued Nov. 26, 1991, shows a hinge suitable for use with cabinets having inset doors. The hinge can be installed and adjusted on the door at the installation site. The hinge has hinge wings which are concealed when the door is in the closed position. The hinge includes a clamping plate parallel to a leg of a door wing engageable in a slot in the slotted edge of the door.
The following prior art also is known and believed representative of the current state of the prior art: U.S. Pat. No. 4,703,539, issued Nov. 3, 1987, U.S. Pat. No. 5,511,287, issued Apr. 30, 1996, U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,290, issued Jan. 24, 1989, U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,141, issued Aug. 15, 1989, U.S. Pat. No. 5,327,616, issued Jul. 12, 1994, U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,297, issued Dec. 27, 1994, U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,165, issued Apr. 28, 1992, U.S. Pat. No. RE.36,213, issued Jun. 1, 1999, U.S. Pat. No. RE.30,717, issued Aug. 25,1981, U.S. Pat. No. 5,052,077, issued Oct. 1, 1991, U.S. Pat. No. 4,615,072, issued Oct. 7, 1986, U.S. Pat. No. 4,517,706, issued May 21, 1985, U.S. Pat. No. 4,698,877, issued Oct. 13, 1987, U.S. Pat. No. 5,392,493, issued Feb. 28, 1995, U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,296, issued Nov. 26, 1996, U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,532, issued Apr. 14, 1992, U.S. Pat. No. 4,704,766, issued Nov. 10, 1987, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,006, issued Dec. 11, 1990. A frameless cabinet door hinge is closed in German Offenlegungsschrift DE 4405349A1. Other hinges of some degree of relevance are shown in pages 93 and 112-114 of the 1998 Charles McMurray Catalog.
The prior art indicated above does not teach or suggest the invention disclosed and claimed herein.
The present invention is directed to apparatus for hingedly connecting a cabinet door to a cabinet wall of a frameless cabinet. The apparatus is characterized by its simplicity and relatively low cost. Furthermore, the resultant construction is very strong and will fail only when very high forces, including hinge xe2x80x9cbend backxe2x80x9d forces, are applied to the cabinet door. This is accomplished by distributing such forces to a substantial area of the cabinet wall, enabling the cabinet incorporating the apparatus to be constructed of materials of lesser strength or having smaller dimensions than possible with known prior art approaches. This results not only in a cost savings but also a more efficient use of natural resources. For example, employing the techniques of the present invention a narrow panel of fiberboard can be utilized as the cabinet wall. Tests have shown that a one-half inch fiberboard panel and the apparatus of the present invention combine to form an extremely strong structure. This is not the case when conventional prior art hinge structures are employed with such material. Of course, the teachings of the invention can be employed with other cabinet wall thicknesses and materials.
The apparatus of the present invention is for hingedly connecting a cabinet door and a cabinet wall of a frameless cabinet, the cabinet wall including spaced wall sides and a wall front extending between the spaced wall sides. The cabinet wall defines an opening at the wall front and an elongated recess extending inwardly from the opening into the cabinet wall between the wall sides.
The apparatus includes a first hinge member for attachment to a cabinet door and a second hinge member pivotally connected to the first hinge member.
A double-ended, elongated support plate is affixed to the second hinge member at one of the ends of the elongated support plate for positioning through an opening in the wall front of a cabinet wall of a frameless cabinet into an elongated recess extending inwardly from the opening and between the wall sides of the cabinet wall, the elongated support plate having a support plate top and a support plate bottom.
At least one projection is attached to the elongated support plate for frictionally engaging the cabinet wall when the elongated support plate is in the elongated recess of the cabinet wall to attach the second hinge member to the cabinet wall.
Other features, advantages, and objects of the present invention will become apparent with reference to the following description and accompanying drawings.